2021 KP People Report

Explore

2021 KP People Report

Programs

University Recruiting (UR) ✏️

In 2020, many companies cancelled internships due to COVID 19. Fast forward to 2021, the market has recovered. Early talent is now more important than ever. The majority of our portfolio companies (71%) have increased headcount for interns / new grads since 2020.

For 2021 UR recruiting, we saw companies with 200+ employees kick off recruiting in August / September and wrap up their intern class by February / March. While some early stage companies (Seed - Series B) may not have a formal program, many will opportunistically take on interns throughout the year if they see a good fit.

Formal UR Program 🎒

On average, we see companies setting up a formal University Recruiting (UR) program when they have ~50+ employees, and have raised $50M+.

⁠

💡 INSIGHT: Applications for the 2022 KP Fellows Program will open in October at

fellows@kleinerperkins.com.⁠

Converting Intern to Full-time Employees ⏰

Building a successful internship program can help with a company’s brand, and provide a vetted funnel for new grad hires. Many of our companies are seeing ~81% intern to new grad FTE conversation rate. The average conversion rate is 66.4% [1].

Internship Experience 🎯

65% of our companies hosted a 100% remote summer program and 20% hosted a hybrid summer program. Companies that have already transitioned back into office hosted in person internships. Given the remote nature, over half of our companies brought their intern class together once a week.

💡 TIP: Use

Welcome⁠

to host engaging virtual events!

⁠

👇 Below are some best practices from our companies on running successful internship programs.

“Treat them like FTEs and give them meaningful work!”

“Lots of virtual events!”

“We have them present their project to executive team at the end of the summer (and last year to our BoD) - they loved the face time!”

“Buddy program with employees who were previous interns to provide 1:1 support in a more informal setting.”

“Have them meet with leadership and other teams.”

“Ensure events are inclusive as possible (i.e. account for timezones, access to supplies, video after hours if they have roommates/families, etc).”

“Leverage employee resource groups to help foster and build connections outside of internship program.”

Compensation, Perks, Benefits 🎖

It is a close split between how companies pay their interns: hourly with overtime, or pro-rated salary.

💡 TIP:

Levels.fyi⁠

(started by a former KP Fellow) is an open-source database of engineering, design, and product salaries. Please note that this is self reported data from employees. Only 4% of the data is validated based on offer letters and W2s, but it may be helpful in providing a general market data.

Intern Pay

⁠

WFH Stipend 💰

35% of companies survey provided a WFH stipend for interns. Over half of those that provide WFH stipend keep the amount the same as a full time employee. We are seeing $500 - $1000 for WFH equipment, in addition to $40-$150 stipend for phone / internet.

Other perks provided for interns include

Future.fit⁠

subsidy,

Modern Health⁠

sessions, company swag, meal credits, and a monitor reimbursement program.

Housing 🏠

44% of companies surveyed provide a housing stipend. We see that companies with 50+ employees begin providing housing stipends. For those that provide housing stipends, this ranges from $1,500 - $9,000. This number is similar to data in our 2020 People Report where ~50% provided housing stipends.

⁠

University Recruiting Budget 🏫

Companies between 1-200 employees have a budget between $1,000 - $50,000. We are seeing larger budgets for companies that have raised $75M+, and have 200+ employees ($50,000 - $200,000).

⁠